Surface Geochemical Sampling

Soil Sampling

Systematic, multi-scale ‘C horizon’ soil sampling has proven an effective primary tool for deposit discovery in the Yukon. Significant modern discoveries such as Kinross’ Golden Saddle, Kaminak’s Coffee Deposit and Comstock’s QV discovery have all been delineated on Soil Anomalies collected by the GroundTruth team.

Since 2010, GroundTruth has collected 320,000 soil samples (>10,000 field man days) in the Yukon. Our foremen and crews possess unmatched experience in ensuring surveys of any size are conducted with maximum quality and efficiency.

Our sample collection procedure is 100% standardized, ensuring consistent data. Sample recording is done digitally in the field, with handhelds on custom forms equipped with barcode scanners. Data is downloaded and monitored by foreman on a nightly basis. Remote camps are equipped with internet to relay data on a daily basis.

We place great effort on preplanning our surveys to maximize efficiency. We camp onsite when possible, a 5 person camp can be slung onsite in one astar sling load + 1 internal. Our traverse length is standardized, making our production and cost extremely predictable.

Backpack Drill Soil Sampling

GroundTruth has developed a lightweight (40lb), high powered auger drilling system mounted on a backpack for soil sampling in winter and permafrost conditions. The system easily portable by one technician, drills to a consistent depth of 80cm with auger, and uses a coring extraction bit to collect sample. Extensive winter sampling programs have been successfully conducted with this unit.

Till Sampling

Sampling of glacial till provides valuable information to vector exploration efforts towards buried mineralized systems and fast tracking the discovery process. Glacial till is unsorted sedimentary material derived directly from glacial processes. In simple terms till is formed when a glacier erodes the bedrock (via abrasion, plucking) as it slides across the land surface.

The material collected by the glacier often includes a poorly sorted mixture of ground rock ranging from clay, silt, sand, pebbles and boulders. Till is deposited directly by the glacier as the glacier melts. Samples are collected preferentially from sites known as Frost Boils. These features occur in the permafrost environment due to a freeze-thaw mixing/churning process known as cryoturbation. Frost boils often contain material from deeper within the till cover and provide an excellent composite of the till cover sequence.

In the past 2 years GroundTruth Exploration has collected over 10,000 till samples.

Our sample collection procedure is 100% standardized, ensuring consistent data. Sample recording is done digitally in the field, with handhelds on custom forms equipped with barcode scanners. Data is downloaded and monitored by foreman on a nightly basis.

Field Portable XRF

GT provides benchtop XRF analysis of soil samples using Innovx X-5000 unit. XRF can be used as a screening tool for results ahead of the lab to direct exploration programs, or as cost saving measure to replace conventional ICP-MS Analysis. 200 samples can be analyzed in one 8 hour shift, providing analysis results at ~1/5th the cost of the lab.